Prudentia

I have always been drawn to the edges of things — the edges of thought, the edges of perception, the edges of what we call intelligence. Not because I understand them, but because they shimmer. They feel like thresholds, like places where something is about to reveal itself but never quite does. And perhaps that is why I found myself returning, again and again, to a peculiar set of experiments performed on axolotls — those soft, translucent salamanders whose bodies seem half-formed, half-dreamed. In Shufflebrain , William H. Pietsch described a strange and unsettling procedure: taking the brain of a normal axolotl and surgically altering its sensory inputs. One creature was given a single fused eye — the cyclops . Another was given three eyes , each feeding visual information into a nervous system never designed to handle such abundance — the triclops . A third, the untouched axolotl, served as the quiet baseline, the unmodified reference point against which the others were measured. ...

In a previous post we looked at some of the major books discussing human genetic engineering. One of the most interesting early contributions was Remaking Eden ( 1997) by Lee M. Silver . Written several years before the completion of the Human Genome Project , the book attempted to predict how biotechnology might reshape human reproduction and society. Nearly three decades later, we now live in a world where powerful gene- editing tools such as CRISPR gene editing exist. This raises a natural question: How well did Silver’s predictions hold up? Prediction 1: Reproductive Genetics Would Expand Rapidly Silver predicted that reproductive technologies would increasingly merge with genetics, creating what he called “ reprogenetics.” In this area, he was remarkably prescient. Today, techniques such as: In Vitro Fertilization ( IVF) Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis ( PGD) already allow embryos to be screened for certain genetic diseases before implantation. Parents underg...

I have always been haunted by a line from Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead , spoken by the Player with that peculiar blend of smugness and resignation: “We’re actors — we’re the opposite of people.” It’s a line that, once heard, refuses to leave you alone. It lingers like a riddle, or perhaps like a diagnosis. What does it mean to be the opposite of a person? And why does that phrase feel more relevant now than ever? People, after all, are supposed to be real. Authentic. Burdened by the mundane obligations that tether us to the earth: children, work, bills, the slow erosion of idealism under the weight of daily life. People have to pick up groceries, negotiate with toddlers, and remember to pay the water bill. People are grounded. Actors — the kind I’m talking about — are not. And I don’t mean Hollywood actors, though they too have their own peculiar detachment from the gravitational pull of reality. No, the actors I mean are the ones who populate our streets, our feeds, our pu...

The question of whether humanity should redesign itself genetically has fascinated scientists, philosophers, and writers for decades. Long before the rise of CRISPR, several authors explored the implications of human genetic engineering for society, ethics, and the future of our species. Below is a brief overview of some of the most influential works in this discussion. 1. Remaking Eden — Lee M. Silver ( 1997) One of the earliest and most provocative books on the topic is Remaking Eden . Written before the discovery of modern gene- editing tools, it explored the consequences of combining reproductive technologies with genetic engineering. Silver introduced the concept of “ reprogenetics” , meaning the combination of reproductive technologies ( such as IVF) with genetic selection or modification to allow parents to choose their children's genetic traits. The book makes several key arguments: 1. Genetic choice will likely become normal. Silver argues that once technology al...